Method of making welting



March 4, 1941. w. c. VEZARD METHOD OF MAKING WELTING' Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 March 4, 1941. v z 2,233,563

METHOD OF MAKING WELTING Filed Sept. 10, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Mar. 4, 1941 I UNITED STATES PATENT "OFF-ICE 2,233,563 METHOD 'OF' MAKING WELTING William C. Vizard,-Brockton, Mass., assignor to Barbour Welting (Company,-Brockton, Mass., a

; partnership Application September 10, 1940, Serial No. 356,174

4 Claims.

ness along the welt extension which is outseamed' to the usual outsole to furnish a heavy edge effect in a single sole-d shoe made with a welt of this type.

As suitable welting leather of adequate thickness for this purpose is not readily .available, heavy edge welting has heretofore been prepared by superposing separate, strips to produce a two unit Welt as disclosed in Lyon Patents 1,708,628 and1,708,629, or by center folding a double width fillet as shown in Gilson Patent 1,732,807.

It is accordingly the principal purpose of the present invention to provide a welt suitable for heavy edge, single soled shoes by forming an oblique slit in the grain sideof a relatively wide fillet, parallel to and remote froma longitudinal edge thereof, and then folding the fillet upon itself .and fastening the juxtaposed flesh surfaces together; to produce a heavy edge Welt substantially wider than one-half the width of the fillet and having an inclined flesh .shoulder which closely hugs the upper at the crease. of .the shoe, and a beveled sewing edge which yields.

readily under welt beating for proper inseaming, thereby affording appreciable economies in production and simplifying shoe manufacture.

Another purpose of the invention is to enhance the appearance and increase the surface width ofthe welt extension of the improveddouble edge welting, by skiving a thin scarf or ribbonfrom the exposed, shell-like grain surface of the deck producedv by folding an obliquely slit fillet as above described.

A further object of the invention is toform a flat inseam ledge and an abrupt, upper-hugging shoulder adjacent the fold of the fillet, by making a short lateral cut at the inner end of the inclined slit above mentioned.

These and other features of the new waiting and its method of manufacture. will be more fully explained in the following description of the recommended embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and will be pointed out in the appended claims. 'In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a leather'fillet formed with an inclined slit through its ,grain side;

Fig. 2 is .a similar view indicating the manner of folding the fillet upon itself at the hinge defined by the. crotch of the slit;

Fig. 3'shows the fillet completelydolded with the juxtaposed'flesh surfaces united by cement or otherwise;

Fig. 4 illustrates the preferred manner of skiving off a thin-ribbon from the grain surface of the deck of the heavy edge welt extension, and 5 also-shows the formation of the inseam groove and the removal of a triangular string from the sewing edge of the welt; the thickness of the rerespectively, showing the provision of an addi- T5 tional, lateral slit in the fillet which produces the inseam ledge and shoulder at the folded hinge.

In the'particular embodiment of the invention chosenfor the purpose of illustration inFigs. l to 5 inclusive, theheavy edge welt is produced from a leather fillet ll (Fig. 1) of rectangular cross-section and of a thickness equivalent to that of ordinary Goodyear welting, approximately 2 16 inch. The fillet or strip is customarily supplied in rolls of'indeterminate length, and the width of the fillet is appreciably less than twice the widthof the finished welt; for example, a heavy edge welt (Fig. 5) 2 inch in'width may be made from a fillet %2 inch wide. The figures of the drawings are approximately twice actual size, and the grainside of the leather is indicated by stippling. I

The fillet I l is slit longitudinally at l2, parallel to and remote from the edge I3 which is to constitute the outer edge of the deck of the doubled weltextension, but nearer to that edge than to the opposite ed e M; the slit entering the top orjgrain side of the leather, inclining away from the edge l3 at an oblique angle to the plane of the fillet, and terminating adjacent the bottom or flesh side to form a central'hinge l5 (Fig. 2) on which the fillet is to be-folded upon itself. The slit "is preferably incised by a suitable machine (not shown) which is also equipped-with rollers for applying'cement to the flesh surface of the fillet, and with fingers for folding and pressing togetherthe divided portions l6 and I! thereof; but it will be understood that these operations may be performed separately, by hand or by'mechanical devices.

' Ineithercase, the parts [6 :and IT are doubled together on'the longitudinalcenter hinge 15 so thatthe'fiesh surfaces' thereof are juxtaposed, and thetwo, portions are suitablyattached'preferably by cement applied" to "said flesh surfaces along the line of juxtaposition I8 (Fig. 3). When thus folded and bonded together,the portion H constitutes the base of the duplex welting strip, including the tapered o-r beveled sewing edge 19; the portion I6 constitutes the grain-surfaced deck, having substantially less surface width than the base and presenting an inclined inner edge 20 of flesh stock; and the outer edges l3 and M of the two portions are flush and normal to the base.

Although the duplex strip thus formed and as shown in Fig. 3 may be used as a heavy edge welt,

the strip is preferably further treated as indicated in Figs. 4 and 5, to provide a better fitting, easier sewing and neater appearing welt.

In order to furnish an exposed grain surface from the beveled inner edge of the base I1, to

ensure easier and more compact application of the welt to the inlasted upper and insole rib; and the usual, inseam stitch receiving groove 24 is formed in the base member of the welting.

Finally, the welt is molded to form smoothly rounded shoulders 25 and 26 along the inclined inner edges of the deck and base. respectively;

and this operation tends .to compress the hinge or fold l5 downwardly and outwardly, as shown in Fig. 5, to form an upper groove 2'! for the inseam stitching and to reduce the thickness of the leather between the two grooves 24 and 27. The exposed edges and surfaces of the finished heavy edge welt may be colored as usual to match the color of the upper; and the bottom'grain' surface of the base I'l may be roughened or thinly skived, if desired, to afford greater flexibility of the sewing edge and better adherence of the welt extension to the outsole on which it is customarily cemented prior to outseaming. It will be understood that the welt is inseamed to the upper and,

innersole and outseamed to the 'outrsole in the same manner as ordinary Goodyear welting, or

as indicated in the aforesaid Lyon and Gils'on patents,

In the .modified forms of the invention illustrated in Figs. 6 to 10 inclusive, the fillet II is provided with a lateral slit 3| in the flesh portion of the strip as well as with the inclined slit l2 previously described. Both slits may be formed simultaneously by an angular shaped knife, if desired, the slit 3i being relativelyshallow and extending from the inner end of slit l2 toward the fillet edge I4, parallel to and adjacent the bottom of the leather strip (Fig. 6).

The lateral slit affords a relatively wide longitudinal hinge 32 .which enables the portions l6 and I! to be folded more easily with less likelihood of cracking at the fold (Fig. 7),.and also pro-l1 vides an abruptly rounded shoulder 34 and an adjacent flat ledge 35 along the inclined inner edge of the duplexstripiFig'. 8), The upstanding flesh shoulder '34 enables the resulting welt (Fig. 10) to hugthe upper more closely at the crease of the shoe' to which it is applied; and the crease or groovebetweenthe shoulder and the Gilson patent. .easier to apply and shape to the lasted upper for ledge or shelf 35 serves as a more efiicient guide for the inseam stitches.

Except for these desirable and advantageous refinements, the heavy edge welt of Fig. 10 is,

' patents, and affords substantial savings in leather costs over the unslit, center-folded welting of the The new heavy edge welt is also inseam stitching because of the flexible, beveled sewing edge, and fits more closely against the upper after stitching because of the sloping or rounded flesh shoulder at the inner edge of the deck. 'As is well understood, this type of welting is intended to be used in single-soled Goodyear welt shoes and, although the inner sloping edge of the welt extension tends to support the upper and protect the crease against the elements in the manner of beaded welting, it will be appreciated that the heavy edge welt serves -additional purposes not accomplished by the usual forms of beaded or calked welting.

The improved heavy edge welting and the methods of manufacture thereof, as herein illustrated and described, are subject to other variations and modifications to suit particular conditions, without departing from the essence of this invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim: 7

l. Amethod of making heavy edge welting which consists in forming a longitudinal slit in the grain side of a leather fillet, so that the slit inclines downwardly and away from one edge of' with a sloping flesh edge adapted to engage a shoe 2. A method of making heavy edge welting which consists in forming a longitudinal .slit in the grain side of a leather fillet, so that the slit inclines downwardly and away from one edge of the fillet and terminates approximately midway between the edges and adjacent the bottom thereof to provide a longitudinal hinge, foldingthe fillet on said hinge so that the flesh surfaces of the folded portions are juxtaposed with the edges thereof substantially flush, cementing the flesh surfaces of the two portions together, to provide a strip'of welting having a base formed with an inclined sewing edge and a deck formed with a sloping flesh edge adapted to engage a shoe upper, and skiving a thin ribbon from the grain surface of the deck to increase the width of the exposed deck surface. f I

3. A method'of making heavy edge welting which consists in forming a longitudinal slitin the grain side of a leather fillet, so that thefsllt inclines downwardly and away from one edge of the fillet arid terminates approximately midway between the edges and adjacent the bottomthereof to provide a longitudinal hinge, folding. the

fillet on said hinge so that the flesh surfaces of the folded portions are juxtaposed with the edges thereof substantially flush, cementing the flesh surfaces of the two portions together, to provide a strip of welting having a base formed with an inclined sewing edge and a deck formed with a sloping flesh edge adapted to engage a shoe upper and skiving a thin ribbon from the grain surface of the deck to increase the width of the exposed deck surface, and molding the strip to round the sloping flesh edge of the deck and the inclined sewing edge of the base, and to form a stitch-receiving groove therebetween.

4. A method of making heavy edge welting which consists in forming a longitudinal, laterally inclined slit in the grain side of a leather fillet, so that the slit extends oblique to the plane of the fillet and terminates apprordmately midway between the edges and adjacent the bottom thereof, forming a shallow lateral slit leading from the end of the first slit parallel to the plane of the fillet, to provide a relatively Wide hinge in the flesh side thereof, folding the fillet on said hinge so that the flesh surfaces of the folded portions are juxtaposed with the edges thereof substantially flush, and cementing the flesh surfaces of the two portions together, to provide a strip of welting having a base formed with an inclined sewing edge, a deck formed with a sloping flesh edge adapted to engage a shoe upper, and a rounded shoulder and adjacent fiat ledge forming a stitch-receiving crease therebetween.

WILLIAM C. VIZARD. 

